Silent Love
by kittyface27
Summary: After the crew arrives at an island with hostile, powerful, little nymphs, Zoro really doesn't expect one of them to kick his ass and steal his sword. But after that, things take an unexpected turn, and a new pirate is added to the crew who is bound to cause unexpected trouble for the world, while also falling hopelessly in love with an otherwise stoic Pirate Hunter. FemLuffyxZoro
1. Nymphs

**I DID it. I fucking did it! I've finished the story that put a stain on my record! As of now, all of the stories I post are finished beforehand. It took me 2 years to finish this story, my writing has changed and I think it's noticeable. A warning is I butchered the timeline to pieces and then glued them together how I wanted them to be. So very obvious canon divergent. There are plot holes about the past since Robin is the captain, so don't think too hard about that. Luffy is OOC, and a bit OP. Lots of Sanji bashing later for obvious reasons. I will be reposting the chapters from the start, so original readers, I'm sorry it's taken so long to finish it and that you won't get a NEW new chapter for a couple weeks. There are sexy times in this one, so for those chapters I'll put an "E" for explicit. It's my longest fic, 155,000 words. Romance is the biggest aspect, but there are multiple fight scenes with canon characters, humor and drama. There is also a lot of violence in this, but most of it is mutual (fighting battles willingly). Enjoy!~**

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Five very small women walked down the path leading to the town's market, all carrying large paper bags with the goods they bought that day. They each had black hair and fair skin. But their faces all looked distinctly different, though they also each had eyes in a shade of blue or blue-green. They didn't speak, or make any sound, though they seemed to interact with each other. But they made no sound. Their feet also made no sound as they walked.

Everyone ignored them. The citizens gave them a wide berth, and didn't even look at them as they walked in opposite directions. The small women made no eye contact and gave nothing away that they even knew there were people around.

Though the people avoided them, animals constantly went up to them. The people just let their pets walk up to them and be pet. The little, simple dressed women smiled at them, and gave them the attention they seeked. Their owners looked uncomfortable and quickly hurried away once their animals came back to them.

Even the children avoided them, except for infants, who waved and giggled at them. They smiled back at the babies. So, the silent girls smiled with animals and babies, but gave no attention to the adults or older children. And they gave none back.

Zoro watched this from a bench in the market. It was strange to him. Something was off with the lack of interaction between the humans and the small… things. He could tell the creatures were not human based on the feeling that came off of them. Something about them, small as they were, radiated a warning of danger.

Zoro was waiting at the rendezvous point for the crew, drinking from a sake bottle as he watched quietly. It was as if they could feel his eyes on them, for all five of them turned at the same time and stared blankly at him, stopping walking. He wasn't gonna lie; the look was creepy. He looked away, and the girls turned away as well, walking forward once again.

"You really shouldn't make eye contact with them," a passerby told the green haired pirate, gone before he could ask for any elaboration. Zoro frowned, but when he looked back once again, the five creatures were out of sight, having turned a corner to wherever they were going.

Zoro finished his sake just as Robin walked up with a thick book in her hands. "Robin, I got a question," he said, voice sounding disinterested.

"Oh?" she replied, bookmarking her page and sitting next to the swordsman on the wooden bench.

"Is there anything out of the ordinary at this island?" he asked.

"You mean the small nymphs?" she questioned back, having already read much of the book about the island, and most of the information on the little people Zoro had observed. He nodded, assuming that those were what he had seen. "Did you see any?"

"Yeah. It was strange. Everyone just ignored them, or looked scared of them. They're tiny, what's so scary about them?" he questioned, looking at the corner they'd disappeared around. "They were a bit creepy," Zoro added. Robin gave a small smile.

"Well, according to the lore of this island, the nymphs are untouchable. No one interacts with them, because they don't take well with humans, except for small children. They aren't especially violent, but if someone offends them or they feel they are threatened, that person disappears not long after the confrontation, however short it had been.

"They have powers, but no one knows what they are. Those who have followed them to see, foolishly, have vanished and never returned. Another fascinating thing about the nymphs is that they can't speak," Robin explained, a light behind her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Zoro asked.

"They don't have the necessary body parts to be able to speak or make any sort of vocalization. No one knows how they communicate with each other, though it is obvious they communicate somehow.

"Many think it's telepathy, but that's just speculation. Many pirates or newcomers harass them in some way, since they are all on the smaller size and don't react too much to the mistreatment. But after the sun sets, and everyone is asleep, those that bothered them are gone. So no one touches or risks interacting with them, except one. The only one who is allowed to speak with them is the king of this island. But even he doesn't boss them around. They are peaceful creatures, unless provoked, so there is no reason to fight with them.

"The king speaks about the market, and what kinds of crops are being grown for that season. Besides that, the nymphs are their own race. They live somewhere in the forests. They are a mystery. Oh, and they like to steal."

"Steal? Why?" Zoro questioned. If they all kept to themselves, then why do they steal?

"They like shiny objects. That's why no one wears jewelry in public on this island. Weapons often disappear, so you should be careful with your swords while we are here," Robin replied with a smile at Zoro's angry face.

"They aren't taking my swords or they'll regret it," he growled.

"I wouldn't say that out here," Robin suggested. "They could be anywhere. I wish I could interact with them. They are amazing creatures, but I don't want to possibly die painfully," she said lightly.

Zoro scoffed at her comment. "Do they have any weaknesses?" If they ever threatened any of the crew, he'd need a way to fight back. But what could win against something so powerful? If they stole weapons, could they not be cut?

"They can't swim in salt water, similar to the effects of a Devil Fruit. Of course, they are hard to kill because they live far inland, and if you were to take one to the ocean, you'd most likely die within the first five seconds of touching them."

"Hmm. They'd be interesting to fight," Zoro mumbled with a dark smile.

"You will not fight or provoke them," Robin commanded harshly, surprising Zoro. "You could get all of us killed or our ship burned down." Zoro grunted in a surrendering way. Fine. He wouldn't mess with them, unless they messed with him first. Or if they tried to take his swords.

"Have any of them ever been caught?" Zoro questioned. How did anyone know so much about them if they were never studied in some way? Surely just watching them in town wouldn't give all the information in the book Robin had read.

"Yes, but that lead to the 2nd Great Massacre of 1109. There had been a first, but there are no records about what happened then. During both, most of the people living on this island were brutally killed. No one has ever picked a fight with them after that. They just coexist with the nymphs as peacefully as possible," Robin said, smiling slightly. Zoro didn't know if the smile was with the information she knew, or if she was the thinking gruesome thoughts again, like usual.

Sanji came over to them, wondering what Mosshead and Robin had been talking about, because he'd seen them speaking on his way down the road, dragging a cart full of food behind him.

He didn't see the nymphs walking to the side and behind him. They were carrying cakes in pink boxes carefully in their small arms so they didn't drop them. One of them, named Luffy, with shoulder length black hair and big round eyes with a scar under her eye was carrying the biggest one.

" _You should have waited for someone else to carry it," the girl next to her told her._

" _No, I can do it!" Luffy insisted, clenching her hands tighter on the bottom edges on the cake box. She wasn't going to drop it! She moved to the side, becoming irritated with the slow human in front of her. Some of his food looked really good. If she weren't carrying the cake, she'd swipe some of the bread she could see._

" _If you insist. But everyone won't like it if you drop it, and it will be all your fault," Luffy's sister said, carrying her own box, but this one had cupcakes. Luffy couldn't wait for the desert feast the nymphs were having that night for the birth of a new baby. It was always a celebration when a new baby nymph was born, since it didn't happen often._

" _This man is really getting annoying," Luffy's friend, Vivi said, looking at the blond haired man with irritation. "We should make him drop all of his food," she said with an inner smirk the other two could hear._

" _Not today, Vivi. There is no violence or provoking today. You know this. Well, unless they hurt us. Then we can do whatever we want," Luffy's older sister, Makino, said, though she was itching to knock this irritating man's food down as well._

 _The three moved away from him, angry with having to do that._

Sanji didn't notice everyone looking at him in fear. He was getting too close to the nymphs, and they were visibly getting angry. Sanji only noticed once everyone scurried away from him and the three irritated nymphs.

Robin watched the nymphs coming closer to her and Zoro in fascination. They were beautiful. Small and delicate looking, each wearing a plain, very light blue, sleeved dress. They had little white slippers on their small feet, and glided across the ground gracefully. They had childlike features, with small noses and big eyes, but they were easy to tell apart.

Then she noticed Sanji getting too close to them on accident. They became visibly irritated, narrowing their eyes in annoyance. Robin hurried over to Sanji, pulling him away from them quickly, telling him quietly to be silent.

But he didn't mind, Robin-chan was holding his arm! Zoro watched the three females as they passed Sanji, losing their negative expressions and going back to their blank faces, only tiny hints of smiles on their faces. He had a hard expression when the one on the far right eyed him, her eyes traveling down to his hip with the three swords resting against it. A small mischievous smile flashed across on her face before it disappeared. Zoro frowned.

" _Look at those swords!" Luffy exclaimed. "They're so pretty…" she said. "I want them."_

" _No, Luffy! You know about today!" Makino scolded. Luffy looked away and to her big sister._

" _Then I'll take them tomorrow?" Luffy asked. "Then it won't be against the rules."_

 _Makino sighed. "Yes, if you can find him again tomorrow, steal them if you want." Luffy loved stealing weapons. It didn't matter who owned it. If she wanted it, she'd have it. Regardless of the consequences._

 _Then Luffy looked up at the human man's face. "Hey, look at his hair. It's green! Why?" Luffy said, extremely interested in his unique hair. "He has a scary frown, though," she observed. She looked at Makino and back to the green haired human man. "Isn't his hair weird?"_

" _Yes, Luffy, it's strange. But stop staring at him and watch where you are going," Makino said sternly, bumping Luffy away from a big rock she almost tripped on. "Honestly, pay attention! Don't drop this cake! It's special, and I don't want to have to go back to bakery and ask for another right then, because humans aren't good with making cakes on the spot, you know."_

" _Banishing the last human baker made them afraid of us. But at least they made better cakes for us after that!" Vivi said._

 _The three passed the man on the bench and turned the corner, walking home through the woods quietly._

Zoro watched the three nymphs carrying the boxed desserts, which were big for their tiny bodies to carry. He frowned darkly when one of them looked at his swords with a small smile. When that one almost tripped, she was bumped to the side. Based on their movements and the way they looked to each other, it was apparent they were communicating somehow, though they didn't open their mouths or make any sounds at all.

"Oh, they're so - !" Sanji started, only to have one of Robin's hands smack over his mouth, silencing him.

"Do not look at them, or bother them at all," Robin warned him darkly. Sanji nodded, then asked why once Robin's hand left his face. She told Sanji she'd tell everyone once they were all together, not wanting to have to explain five more times.

Sanji went to the ship to put the food away and Zoro continued to sit in the same spot while Robin sat next to him, reading the book about the nymphs some more. She had a smile on her face as she read the interesting content. Zoro had his swords sitting in his lap. While they were here, he was going to pay more attention to the swords. He wouldn't let them get stolen. No way. Especially by a tiny, child-like female.

-x-

Nami, Chopper and Usopp were walking around the island, Nami charting, Usopp and Chopper looking for herbs. There were a lot of completely empty areas that were overgrown with plant life. There were some herbs Chopper had never been able to get anywhere else. He was ecstatic. He wondered why none of these herbs had been picked before. They were all untouched. It was strange. Maybe no one had found this place? But it wasn't a super big island, so that would be strange if it were the reason.

The three didn't know they were being watched by angry, small creatures. This place was for the nymphs! Why were there humans here? And they were taking the medicine that the nymphs use for sickness and injuries. But they weren't supposed to be hostile that day, because it was a celebration day. But they couldn't just have people and a strange creature picking their precious resources.

" _Humans are picking our herbs!" a male nymph shouted to his friend, Marco. "What do we do?"_

 _Marco frowned, thinking of a solution. "Well, we can't banish them, because it's a celebration day. We could try and scare them off, but if they're here, then they don't live on this island. Though, we can't have them picking our plants… We could use_ _Chouchou to scare them off," Marco suggested._

" _That would work!" Ace said, impressed with the quick thinking. Ace shouted Chouchou's name, knowing he was sleeping somewhere close. He must have been very deep asleep, because these humans were very loud. And violent! The red haired woman hit her companion often. The nymphs never hurt one another. Humans were terrible._

 _Chouchou the wolf came up, yawning. "What is it?" he asked. Nymphs could speak to animals like how they spoke to each other. Marco told him the problem, and the wolf agreed to scare them off._

As Chopper picked the herbs, he suddenly heard angry voices about humans taking their precious plants. There were people somewhere watching them. According to these voices, Chopper was stealing. He frowned. These voices sounded strange. Almost similar to how speaking to another animal sounded.

But these voices were not animals. He could just tell. Chopper sighed in disappointment as he put the bundle of picked plants back on the ground.

Then he heard the voices wanting to send a wolf in to scare them. Chopper didn't want that to happen, so he spoke to whoever was talking to the wolf.

"I'm sorry!" he shouted, unsure about where the voices were coming from. "We didn't know this place belonged to you! We will leave now!" Usopp and Nami looked at him strangely.

"What are you doing?" Nami asked, confused as to who Chopper was talking to.

"Didn't you hear those voices? This area belongs to someone else," Chopper said, confused as well. Usopp asked what he was talking about again.

"We just need to go. They don't want us here. We'll buy medicine in a town or something. Let's go," Chopper insisted. Usopp and Nami grudgingly agreed, and as the three left, Chopper called that they wouldn't be coming back.

 _Ace and Marco watched from the trees as the two humans and one animal left. They both looked at each other._

" _He could understand us. And he spoke out loud! Should we follow it?" Ace asked with a smirk. Chouchou had left with a huff, irritated his nap had been interrupted._

" _No, not today," Marco replied to his friend. "At least he won't be coming back to pick more. He heard our warning."_

 _-x-_

All the pirates had met up, besides Sanji, who was now guarding the ship, at the meeting point. Chopper, Nami and Usopp were all still a bit confused about their experience. Nami had to stop her charting on the island because Chopper insisted it was a bad idea. He didn't want them to piss off any more of the creatures the voices belonged to. They seemed pretty hostile.

But as they walked back to the ship, Robin telling them she'd explain about this island back at the Going Merry, Chopper continued to hear voices from nowhere. He was starting to think he was crazy. But he said nothing. If no one else could hear it, what was the point? And it's not like the voices were doing something bad. They were mostly talking about a birthday party.

Nami had been the only one of the coward trio that had noticed some of the little people and the strange behavior from the villagers.

When they all finally reached the ship and went to the galley, Robin explained what she had read. Sanji looked shocked, thoroughly glad he had not interacted with the small women. Chopper finally spoke up after Robin's explanation was over.

"I've been hearing voices in the village! But I never see anyone talking!" he exclaimed. "They got mad at us for picking plants from their area… are they gonna kill us all?" Chopper asked in horror. "I mean, I apologized and put everything back, so we should be okay, right? Right?!" Usopp and Nami shivered.

"I don't wanna go back onto the island!" Usopp shouted. Nami seconded this. But then she frowned.

"There's still eight days until the log pose is done… I guess we can just stay on the ship? It might be boring but it would probably be safer for _some_ of us." She looked straight at Sanji. Nami saw a handful of nymph females and they were all beautiful. Sanji would end up killing them all.

"I'll be fine, Nami-san," Sanji assured as he cooked. But everyone narrowed their eyes at him, not believing him. "I bet Mosshead doesn't want to go back because a little girl wants to steal his lame swords," Sanji said with a smirk.

Zoro just gave a scoff. "No little girl is gonna get the best of me. Robin had to cover your stupid mouth so you didn't hit on them and get us killed. Dumbass," he replied.

"Want me to spit in your food?" Sanji asked casually.

"Then Nami won't ever trust your food again." This shut Sanji up.

"Usopp, you're on watch," Nami said casually as she ate what Sanji just served. Usopp almost spit out his drink.

"I am _not_ on watch! There's scary monsters out there! And they saw me! I don't wanna die!" he screamed.

"Shut up!" Sanji and Zoro both shouted, glaring at each other for talking at the same time. Robin put down her drink.

"I will stay out with you, Usopp," she offered. "I never finished the book." Usopp looked greatly relieved, and went back to his meal, knowing Robin was strong and good at negotiations; she was the captain after all. She would probably be the best to diffuse a sticky situation with one of the small, scary nymphs. Robin secretly hoped to see some during watch.

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 **I'm so happy I finished. I know from before that this fic never had a lot of attention or followers, but I'm just happy it's finished. It'll be awesome if it's popular, but I'm fine if it doesn't catch on. I just hope everyone enjoys it enough to stick through it. See you next week!**


	2. The First Battle

_As Luffy ate her slice of cake, she was coming up with ideas of how to take that human's pretty swords. She wanted to add to her collection of different types of weapons. She'd been stealing weapons for over a decade. Everyone thought she was a bit strange. They all stole pretty things like coins and jewelry. Or shiny clothes to wear around home. They wore their plain clothes outside their area._

 _Everyone around her was playing with the new baby nymph that the celebration was about. They were all drinking delicious wine and juice they'd made from real grapes for the occasion. She was sitting against the entrance of their beautiful home. It was in a tree, but it was a magic tree. It was a portal to a big beautiful compound that rested in a cove with beautiful clear water, home to many fish and sea mammals that came and went out to a long river to the ocean. No one came that way by ship because it was impossible to navigate through the coral and jagged rocks._

 _There were giant leaves used as umbrellas with fluffy seats underneath them. They had created everything there with their abilities. If a human ever found them walking through the tree hole, they were banished. Sent off to somewhere else in the world, far from the island._

 _They only killed when someone harmed any of the nymphs. Luffy couldn't stop thinking about what the swords must feel like. If their handles were soft and if they were heavy. She could turn any part of herself into a weapon, but real ones were fun to collect and use as models._

" _What are you thinking about?" Makino came up. Luffy smiled._

" _Nothing," she replied, but it was obviously a lie. When she gave Luffy a stern look, Luffy told her she was thinking about the swords the green haired human had. Makino sighed._

" _Well, tomorrow you can go steal it. But make sure you are careful. He looked strong. I know you like fighting against strong opponents, but be careful. Last time you took a sword from someone battling you, it was bad. I don't want that to happen again," Makino finished. Luffy nodded._

" _Whatcha' guys talking about?" Ace, their brother and Luffy's older twin, said as he plopped down next to them, tipsy from the massive amount of wine he had consumed._

" _I found swords I want to steal!" Luffy said, immediately more lively with her brother there._

" _Oh ho, what do they look like? Any different from your collection?" he asked as he took a large gulp of the alcohol._

" _There's a white one, and two black ones. Their hilts are really pretty. And all of them are carried by one guy! All at once. So crazy," she replied happily. "I can't wait to have them. Ooh, I hope he fights with me over them. I want to see how he uses all three at the same time."_

" _Sounds like a big challenge. I have something interesting to tell, too. Promise you won't pass it on tonight?" Ace asked Luffy. Makino immediately left, because she was terrible at keeping secrets, so she stayed away from them._

" _What is it? What is it?" Luffy questioned excitedly._

" _There was a creature that heard us, and spoke out loud. It was picking our herbs," (Luffy gasped in anger) "But then he heard us getting angry about it, and apologized and left, leaving the herbs he'd picked! It was crazy!"_

" _Wowww! That's so cool!" Luffy was amazed by Ace's information. "What did it look like?"_

" _It looked very strange. It was furry, but it walked upright. It was even smaller than we are! It had hooves and antlers. And it wore a hat and bottoms. It was a strange experience. He seemed friendly, though. And his human companions didn't hear us. It was just him," Ace finished, smiling at Luffy's amazed expression._

" _We should try and talk to it!"_

" _Shh… Don't be so loud. But we really should go and find it. Let's do it tomorrow, before others get there first," Ace offered. Luffy nodded her head enthusiastically._

" _Then we have to find the man with the swords I want."_

" _It's a deal. It's getting late, so we should go to bed and get up before everyone else." Luffy agreed and they went to their rooms in their area. Makino still wasn't back when they closed their doors and said goodnight._

 _Luffy and Ace got up early and snuck out the portal and back into the forest, closing the entrance behind them, sealing it so no human could get through. They quickly headed back to the town Luffy had gone to yesterday and the one the weird animal/person had headed to from the meadow they were trespassing on._

 _They sat on the same bench Zoro and Robin had sat on the day before. Everyone gave them a wide berth, trying to keep out of their area. The siblings waited for two hours, until they saw a group of people. It had both the creature Ace had seen and the man Luffy was going to follow that day._

" _Is that him?" Luffy asked when the little creature came into view._

" _Yeah. You go up first. You're smaller and cuter. They won't be too scared of you, hopefully." Luffy frowned._

" _I'm strong like you are, too!" she replied indignantly._

" _I know, I know, but you look less threatening," Ace assured. It was true Luffy was exceptionally strong, but she was also small and very cute._

As the group got closer to Luffy, who was standing in the middle of their path, staring at Chopper, they all grew nervous. Zoro unconsciously put his hand on his swords _._ Chopper hid behind Robin's long legs.

But the group came closer. One of them, a man with a very long nose, slowed his walking, pretending to be casually looking at an interesting brick wall.

Robin smiled at her, looking at her beautiful face and small body. As a human, she'd be considered very undeveloped. She had a very flat chest and was overall pretty skinny. But it was clear she was not a child. It was a strange sight honestly. The pirates all stopped in front of her. Sanji was turned away from her so his instincts didn't kick in and flirt with the dangerous girl.

" _Do you understand me?"_ Luffy questioned, looking directly at Chopper. Everyone around them, stared discreetly as they walked past. They hoped the nymphs didn't get angry about anything, because these people might never be seen again if they offended her or the male sitting a while behind her.

"Y- yes," Chopper replied. The crew wondered what she had "said" to him.

" _Why?"_

"I d- don't know." The girl tilted her head. Then she turned to the other nymph.

" _Did you hear him?"_ Luffy called. Ace nodded. Then he got up and walked over as well. He was over a foot taller than Luffy, but was still pretty short compared to the humans before them.

" _What is your name?" Ace asked._

"Chopper," the reindeer answered. Luffy asked what he was curiously. Everyone around them were shocked at this. Humans and nymphs never spoke to each other, and it looked like this furry creature could understand them.

"I'm a reindeer," Chopper replied.

" _You don't look like a reindeer…"_ Luffy said, tilting her head again. He didn't look like a deer at all. Then he told them he wasn't gonna hurt them, which put the siblings in alert mode. But Chopper just changed and turned into a real reindeer, still wearing his clothes. Luffy gasped, and Ace blinked in confusion.

" _Wow! That's amazing!"_ Luffy exclaimed, though her expression was still just surprised _. "Can you shift into anything else?"_

"Well, kind of… but it's still only being a reindeer. Do you want me to show you?" Chopper asked, feeling more at ease with the two nymphs. Luffy nodded her head. Chopper took out a little ball and ate it with a "crunch". Luffy and Ace watched, excited to see what would happen, but they both kept the slightly blank looks, the surprised expressions gone.

Chopper changed his shape 7 times, causing more nymphs to come over and watch. Soon there was a small crowd of little people, some carrying bags or boxes. More and more came over, and even humans watched, though keeping away from all of the nymphs.

Once Chopper turned back into his original form, one of the nymphs from the back of the crowd clapped her hands, and soon Chopper was greeted with applause from all of the small beings. Then the crowd dispersed and they went on their ways again. It was a strange sight for all of the humans.

" _That was amazing. Hey, can I try with one of those balls?"_ Luffy asked, slightly bouncing on the toes of her slippers.

" _No, Luffy. Don't eat one, it could mess with you,"_ Ace told her, putting his hand on her petite shoulder. She pouted slightly and crossed her arms. " _Seriously. Chopper, what would happen if she ate one?"_ he asked the still blushing reindeer from the applause.

"I don't know, but it's not a good idea. It would be bad for humans to eat, but I don't know about you guys. I wouldn't eat it if I were you," Chopper replied casually. He'd grown very comfortable around Luffy and Ace. Ace looked at Luffy, as if to say, " _Told you so"._ Luffy frowned.

" _Thanks for showing us. We've never been able to talk with humans before. I assume we can talk to you because you are an animal. How long will you be here?"_ Ace questioned. He paid no mind to Luffy's eyes flicking to Zoro's swords and back to the ground.

Zoro did notice this though, and gave the girl a stern look. But she pressed her lips together to not smirk. _She was going to get those swords._

"We can leave in eight days. Then we'll head for the next island," Chopper replied.

" _That's too bad. I'm sure everyone would like you. But we understand if you have other things to do,"_ Ace said, bumping Luffy's shoulder to get her to stop looking at the green haired man with a challenging look. That was asking for trouble _._

"Uh… no, I'd like to see more of you!" Chopper said. He liked the nymphs. And they obviously liked him. They seemed to just not like humans. He wondered why that was.

"Wait, Chopper! We're supposed to get more medicine today since we left so quickly yesterday," Sanji said. He had looked over at all the nymphs while they watched Chopper's performance, and all of the females were beautiful. He was trying to hide a blush, and especially a nosebleed.

" _You can come and pick herbs from our meadow!"_ Luffy offered loudly. But she was greeted by frowns from the other nymphs.

" _No, he can't come to our meadow!"_ a male nymph said to Luffy and Ace. " _He'll use them to help humans. It's not allowed."_

Luffy's face fell. She knew he was right. " _Sorry, nevermind,"_ she told Chopper sadly _. "We should go. Thanks for showing us your cool stuff,"_ Luffy told him. She turned around with Ace, who held her hand, and they began to walk away.

"Wait! Do you… wanna have breakfast with me - us?" Chopper asked. He didn't want them to leave. He liked them, and they were interesting. Luffy and Ace eyed him warily, and then their eyes flicked to the much larger humans.

" _We don't consort with humans," Ace said, both he and Luffy, stopped again. "We have to go now." Both Luffy and Ace had grown uncomfortable so close to such large and negative looking humans. "Bye!" Luffy called as she and Ace walked away and around the corner._

" _What do ya wanna have for breakfast?" Ace asked Luffy, who looked a little down. She wanted to hang out with Chopper more, but she didn't like the other humans being there._

" _Hmm… Why don't we go to their ship and eat some of their food?" Luffy said mischievously. "They offered to have breakfast with us. We just misunderstood and thought they were offering to eat at their ship. When they weren't there, we got so hungry we couldn't help ourselves."_

 _Ace grinned, up for a little trouble making. Not being able to do anything yesterday had taken its toll on the two. The two nymphs turned another corner and ran to the docks._

"Why did you offer them to have breakfast with us?" Usopp asked Chopper, like he was crazy. They were all sitting at a restaurant waiting for their food. Chopper was moping.

"I liked them. They were nice. They offered me to use their herbs. But the other ones got mad and said no. Luffy seemed really fun, too. I wanna know more about them. Are they magic? They just seem so interesting!" Then he went back to moping, playing with the straw in his juice.

"What were they saying? And what are their names?" Robin asked. She also had wanted to have breakfast with them. They were fascinating, even if she couldn't converse with them personally.

"The girl was Luffy and the other one was Ace, her brother. She kept asking me questions about myself. She wanted to eat one of my Rumble Balls but Ace told her not to. When I asked them if they wanted to eat with us, they told me they wouldn't consort with humans… I wonder what happened to them to hate humans so much?"

"Think about it, Chopper," Sanji said. "They're all tiny and aren't exactly threatening looking. Think about most human nature. Humans would use them for their powers, whatever they may be. I think, for whatever reason, it is smart for them to keep their distance from humans personally.

"It would be nice to be friends with them, but it looks like that won't be what happens, and that's fine. I don't think it's anything personal, like who we are as individuals. It's probably also tradition. We shouldn't bother them with forcing our company… But they were so beautiful!" Sanji cried, thinking about how he could be the protective partner with a fragile female partner needing protection. Though he was sure if he said that, it would be quite offensive.

Zoro was scowling while they spoke. He did _not_ like Luffy. She kept eyeing his swords, almost hungrily. And that mischievous smile put him on guard. It's not like she could get his swords on the ship. They wouldn't even know which one was theirs.

 _Luffy and Ace sat in the tangerine grove, eating delicious food from both the trees and the kitchen. They made sure to keep everything in the right places. No one would know they'd even been there. Even if they broke something, they could easily repair it._

 _After Luffy finished eating, she explored the inside of the ship. It was pretty small for such a large group of people, but it was cozy. The bathroom was nice, though small for humans. The tub was a nice size if Luffy wanted to take a bath._

 _The hammocks were fun to play with and swing around in. She looked in every drawer and closet. In the girl's room, Luffy was surprised about how many outfits the human women had. And they were all so revealing. If Luffy were to wear something like that, it would be frowned upon. She wouldn't want to even if she could, but she was sure no nymph would be seen in something like that._

 _Ace was surprised that the men of the ship had multiple pairs of the same outfit. They also had one pair of shoes each._

" _Ace! These women wear so many revealing outfits!" Luffy called through the thin wall between the women's and men's rooms._

" _The men wear the same thing every day!" he called back. He headed to the room Luffy was in and saw her pinching her nose away from a bottle._

" _Ace, what is this? It smells terrible!" Luffy commented, waving the air. Ace spritzed the thing, too, revolted as well._

" _I have no idea. It's nasty." Luffy had moved on to the vanity table. She rummaged around the drawers, pulling out lipstick and nail polish._

" _Ooh, it's like a pen," Luffy said absentmindedly, drawing the lipstick onto her small hands. Then she easily wiped it off with her other hand, the mess disappearing. "I feel bad for humans. They have to use stuff to clean. It's so much easier for us…" Luffy said, now playing with nail polish._

" _That was a pen and this is a brush!" Luffy exclaimed as she played with makeup. When she realized Ace had left the room, she put everything back where it was. She hurried up to the deck and ended up finding Ace in the storage room._

" _It's too bad we can't let them know we were here. This is quality rope to take."_

" _Why does it matter? Just make yourself some rope," Luffy said, jumping from one box to another, then swinging on the lamp in the room. "Do you think we should go now? I'm sure they'll be coming back soon," Luffy mumbled to herself, but Ace could hear of course._

" _Yeah, let's go," Ace agreed, turning everything back to how it was._

 _As they left the ship, and ran up the docks and to the forest nearby, Luffy laughed, saying, "Now I know the layout of the ship to get those pretty swords."_

" _I don't know, Luffy. They looked pretty powerful, even if one of them refused to look at us. They looked like surprisingly powerful people. Besides the human with the long nose. Even the lady holding the book looked powerful," Ace said, both of them walking away from the small harbor, home to many boats people live in._

" _I'll be okay. But it was a really cool ship, huh? And big for us. I liked their comfy seats. They'd be fun to bounce on, right?" Luffy asked. She couldn't wait to get back on that boat and prove to Ace and Makino that she was strong enough to steal from a powerful human. She'd come home with a big, beautiful weapon. And then she'd go back for the other two. Eight days, huh? Plenty of time._

" _Yeah, I'm sure it'd be fun to live in. Let's go home, I'm tired. We got up too early," Ace said. Luffy skipped next to him as they walked down the familiar trail._

The nymphs had left the crew alone other than some saying hello to Chopper, who was drinking up the positive attention. He wished he could hang out with them before he and the crew left. But he didn't want to ditch the others, so he went back to the ship with them, moping slightly.

The other humans left the little people alone, everyone ignoring each other. They didn't see any more of the nymphs as they walked back to the ship.

Chopper heard laughter, and by the fact none of the crew seemed to hear it, Chopper assumed it was nymphs.

" _I dare you! If you do it, I'll steal you some candy," a female nymph told another girl. There was a rope being lowered from a peak high up above the trees._

" _Are you sure? You know you can't swim in it…" Chopper heard a male nymph say. The rope now touched the water at the far end of the harbor. Chopper could only hear them from that far because of his enhanced hearing. He watched the three play up on the peak. They were younger. Actually, all of the nymphs they'd seen looked youthful._

" _All you have to do is climb down, lick the water and come back up in under two minutes. It's easy!" the one who spoke first said. "I'll show you."_

 _Chopper watched as a girl wearing the plain dress all the females wore slid down the long rope. She flipped herself upside down, her legs wrapped around the thick rope, and lowered her face down to the water. She stuck her tongue in it and then climbed back up easily._

" _See?" she asked, sounding haughty. More nymphs came up to the peak, and Chopper stopped to watch them play. Robin had stopped, too, and was watching them with a smile._

 _Another girl told the original she could do it better. Then she tied the rope around her waist and spun down all the way to the bottom of the rope, swinging by one hand at the bottom and tasting the water. She then climbed up nimbly, laughing._

"What are they saying?" Robin asked. The others also had stopped to watch the little people play in the distance.

"They're daring each other to climb down, taste the water and then climb back up. Now it's turned into a competition," Chopper explained.

Suddenly, all of them stopped playing and pulled up the long rope once they noticed humans were watching them play.

" _Stupid humans, acting like we're entertainment," a female nymph said irritably. "Let's go someplace else."_

"Wow, they really hate humans…" Chopper said sadly. Robin looked a bit sad, too. She wished she could be around them. "They left cause they thought we were using them for entertainment."

Robin suddenly frowned at herself. That's what she'd been doing. She wanted to be around them because they were fascinating. She was studying them… like they were entertainment. As if she were in a zoo, amused by the 'creatures'. She felt guilty now.

"Let's just get back to the ship," she said.

They didn't really do much the rest of the day, though some of them felt like someone had been on the ship. But upon inspection, nothing was out of place, and nothing was missing, besides some food, but it could have been any of them going in the fridge for some sort of snack.

-x-

It was Zoro's turn on watch that night, and he would stay awake the whole time. He could just picture that girl climbing up on their ship and stealing his precious swords. Well, that was not going to happen. Zoro would be humiliated if a tiny female stole his swords.

So he sat up against the railing all his watch, eyes wide open. He refused to be snuck up on.

 _Luffy watched the swordsman sit up against the railing, obviously expecting her to come. She hoped he'd put up a good fight. She was determined to get at least one sword to start off with. She'd target the white sword first. That one was the prettiest. She'd never seen a white sword with a white scabbard._

 _Luffy jumped from one ship to another, silently landing barefoot on the sheep's head of the bow. She silently walked along the railing, watching the green haired man. He didn't move at all. She hoped he wasn't asleep._

 _After watching him for a few minutes, she jumped right in front of him. He growled at her. She gave a small smirk. Then he stood up. He was easily two feet feet taller than her._

"Think you're gonna take my swords, runt?" _he growled, pulling his two black swords out, one in each arm._

 _Luffy gave a big smile. "Of course I am, stupid human." Zoro knew what she was thinking based on that massive smirk of a smile. She put both arms up, like a fist fight._

"You think fists can beat swords?" _Zoro asked incredulously._

 _Luffy's forearms suddenly morphed into two long, sharp, curved blades that reflected the moonlight. Zoro's eyes widened slightly in surprise._

 _She attacked first, swiping at his legs, since she was smaller than him by far. But he blocked well, thrusting a sword up, as if to slice her in half, but she danced away from him gracefully. He swung again, with both blades going towards her small chest, but she blocked with her arm-blades easily. Every time he was about to do a move, she'd run to him too quick for him to even get in position. She'd dash in and strike so he had to block. Luffy was ruthless and relentless._

 _He felt a familiar feeling fighting Luffy. She was so unpredictable. She'd even, in mid-air, shift her lower leg so it became a blade as well. He found himself backing away from her strikes. This both angered him and made his heart pump faster. He tried to swing all his swords at once, but she pushed up one blade with her leg as a blade, and spread apart his other two blades so his chest was in the open._

 _But he jumped out of her range as she mercilessly slashed where his chest had been. Zoro thought she was trying to kill him, but that was not her intention because she could heal him if she felt like it._

 _The battle lasted for a little under an hour, and Zoro was panting, a shark grin around the sword in his mouth. Her clothes were ripped, and his shirt was stained with blood from the small slashes she got in. He thought he cut her multiple times, but she was able to heal over too fast for him to see. It was a one sided battle they were both enjoying. But she was tired, and just wanted to get the sword already._

 _She stabbed her arms into the mast and climbed up, before she leapt at him one more time, curling all her limbs in so she had four jagged blades. He felt her sword-limbs pierce him painfully. He swore as he went down. Zoro stared up at her, feeling strange, not only because he was in pain. She had cut deep, and he was bleeding a lot._

 _She smirked at him as he lay there, panting and in pain. She dusted herself off and, right in front of him, picked up Wado Ichimonji from between his teeth and sheathed it gently. She waved it at him before bringing it down on his head to knock him out cold._

 _Little three foot, eleven inches Luffy had defeated the Pirate Hunter, Roronoa Zoro._

 _Of course, she didn't leave him to die. She healed his wounds, and left his other two swords. She'd take those in their next battle. She was surprised no one had woken up from their noisy battle. Maybe they assumed he'd deal with it. He was going to be very embarrassed when he woke up._

 _Luffy jumped to the dock and ran away with the large sword, laughing hysterically. She won! There! Ace nor Makino would ever act like she was weak again. She couldn't wait to fight him again. And take another sword._


	3. Aftermath of the First Battle

**Chapters will get longer later in the story. Stay safe in these troubling times (in America, especially, right now). Enjoy~**

* * *

"Zoro! What the hell happened to you?!" Usopp exclaimed once he came out to see Zoro laying on the deck, drenched with blood. He had a big lump on his head, and the light of the day hurt his eyes. Then he quickly got up and felt his chest. He was completely fine!

But there was blood all over his shirt. Was last night a dream? Then he looked to his sides, seeing two swords. Wado Ichimonji was gone.

" _Fuck!"_ Zoro screamed in fury. He looked at the evidence of last night's fight. The holes in the deck and mast, the scrapes along the ground and the blood splatters. Luffy must have done something to heal Zoro's injuries, or he'd be dead. But this was more embarrassing than being killed by a tiny woman.

First of all, he was knocked out like a little bitch and robbed. Then he was healed by his enemy! And it was a tiny, tiny girl who did this! His face turned bright red in shame and embarrassment. The fight had been fun, but he didn't like the outcome.

And she knocked him out with his own sword. He turned even redder at that.

"Whoa, what happened out here? Where is your white sword?" Usopp asked in confusion. Zoro was never without all three of his swords. Zoro turned and snarled at him.

" _Don't tell the Love-cook or Robin,"_ he hissed at the long nosed teen.

"Tell me what?" Robin asked as she came out onto the deck with Nami behind her. Zoro felt cornered when everyone asked him what was up.

"Are you… blushing?!" Nami questioned.

"No! I'm not blushing! I need to take a walk!" Zoro roared, ripping his shirt off as he left the ship.

"Be careful of pissing off the nymphs -" Nami called.

"I DON'T GIVE A FUCK!" Zoro shouted as he ran away and down the dock. " _LUFFY!"_

"Luffy? Can someone tell me what just happened?" Usopp asked in confusion.

"He's not gonna go be mean to Luffy, is he?" Chopper asked in concern. Robin put her hand on her chin in thought. Then she smiled.

"It would seem that Luffy has beaten and stolen one of Zoro's swords," she said with a chuckle. "I did tell him to be careful about his swords on this island," the woman added. Sanji busted up in laughter.

"What a disgrace!" he howled as he laughed uncontrollably. "He was beaten and robbed by a tiny woman. Ah man, I am not going to forget this." Robin chuckled as well. Nami smirked. She liked this Luffy now.

 _Luffy sat at the peak and watched the Going Merry once the sun began to rise. When Zoro woke up, she chuckled. Even from there she could tell her was humiliated. Poor guy! Luffy laughed some more as he started screaming in anger. Well, he should be embarrassed, not that she was surprised by the outcome. It was not her intention to kill him. She just wanted at least one of his beautiful blades._

 _She'd spent a long time in her room, admiring the sword and running her hands along the smooth blade. It had a nice feel coming off of it. Then she put it in her closet, which she'd turned into a large display case. She set her new blade at the top or the shelf, so it would be the first to be seen when anyone entered the small space._

 _After Luffy got some rest, she wandered out of the home and to scope out the docks. She came skipping back home to get Ace. She had to tell him about it._

 _She knocked on his door. "Ace, I have something to show you," she said through the door. Her brother opened the door with a yawn._

" _What is it, Luffy?" When Luffy gave him a smirk, he woke up a little more. "Come see," was what Luffy said, leading him to her closet display. "I beat him last night! And I stole the white sword! I told you I could do it. And I did it by myself," Luffy told him, laughing, arms crossed and wearing a triumphant grin._

" _You didn't kill him, did you?" Ace asked, laughing with her._

" _Of course I didn't kill him. I healed him, so he should be fine."_

" _Oh no, he won't be. I'm betting he is humiliated. You pissed on his manly honor. What was the fight like?" Ace asked. They both sat on Luffy's fluffy bed as she recounted last night and how the fight turned out._

" _I'm going back for another one tonight."_

" _You better be careful. He's gonna be pissed. He's probably gonna go around the island screaming for you. What will you do if he catches you?"_

" _I'll laugh at him. I'm sure, even if they can't hear us, they can tell when they are being ridiculed. I told you I was strong!" Luffy added with a hearty laugh. Ace smiled with her._

" _Don't tell anyone else about it until the pirates are gone."_

" _Oh, I'm sure he's not gonna want to leave before he has his sword back," Luffy replied with a knowing smile. "I watched him wake up. He was furious. I'd be scared if I weren't so strong."_

" _Don't get full of yourself. You'll shoot yourself in the foot if you do that," Ace warned. "Let's go watch him." Luffy got up and ran out of the room after him, heading for the defeated green haired pirate._

 _It didn't take long for them to find him, rampaging through the town, but staying away from the nymphs as best as he could in his rage. He clearly was now wary of the tiny creatures. If they could all do what Luffy had done, then they truly were dangerous._

 _Everyone, nymph or human, watched the man warily. What was his problem? His face was bright red as his eyes sifted through the market. There weren't many nymphs out yet. Zoro was swearing colorfully as he walked around the streets he'd seen Luffy on._

 _Luffy and Ace watched him from the roofs of the buildings along the roads he was stalking._

" _Man, you pissed him off. Poor guy. I can't help but feel sorry for him," Ace said in sympathy._

" _Well, I'm not giving his sword back! I won it fair and square. If he gets mad about that, then he's not a very good swordsman," Luffy replied, crossing her arms. "I thought humans were stronger than this. I am disappointed."_

" _Luffy…" Ace began. He had a feeling she should give the sword back. His feelings obviously showed on his face, for Luffy grew angry._

" _He can have it back if he beats me next time. No one gives back jewelry that they steal! Why do I have to give a sword back that I won? I didn't steal it like a common thief!" Luffy said indignantly. "If I had lost, then I would have left. I'd have tried again!"_

 _Ace sighed. He knew Luffy was right. But he didn't want this angry human to cause a major problem._

" _Well, why don't you tell him that?" Luffy's big brother asked. "Tell him that he'll get his sword back if he defeats you tonight. Maybe that will diffuse the situation. As he is now, he could cause damage and end up getting banished or even killed." Luffy frowned, crinkling up her nose._

" _...Fine. But how do you expect me to tell him that?"_

" _Chopper is his crewmate, right? Maybe he'll be your translator. And I'll be there in case it goes wrong. How about we go get him?" Luffy scowled._

" _I don't like this!" she exclaimed. "Why are you making a big deal about it? You never get like this about when I've stolen someone else's weapon. What's so special about this one?"_

" _His bounty is a lot higher than the others. That's why."_

" _Well, he doesn't live up to his bounty at all. He should be ashamed of his performance."_

" _Luffy! You used four blades against him, healed yourself constantly, and moved around in a way humans can't. Of course he was at a disadvantage," Ace reasoned. "Why do you care so much about this one sword? Is it because it's white? What's so special about it?"_

" _It feels alive. That's why. It feels like someone's soul is trapped inside of it, and I've never met a weapon like that! That's why I want to keep it."_

" _Don't you think that's why it is important to him? Maybe he knows the person's soul you say is in the blade." Luffy frowned at this. If that was the case, she could see why he was so upset. Ooh, but it was such an amazing blade! She really didn't want to give it up._

" _I want to see it again before we talk," Luffy said curtly. She then turned around and leapt off of the roof and hurried into the forest, heading home._

 _Luffy sat on her bed with Wado Ichimonji in her lap. She had the scabbard propped against the wall as she just stared at the sword._

 _Luffy found herself asking the sword what it wanted. "Do you want to stay here with me, or go back to Roronoa Zoro?" Of course there was no verbal answer, but she got the feeling of shame in the weapon._

" _You're ashamed that your master lost, aren't you?" Luffy questioned. "It was pretty sad," she added with a chuckle. "I won't use you against him again," the nymph said with a sigh. "Do you want me to take you back? Then you can try again... Kuina..."_

 _Luffy felt a little tug in her mind when she knew the sword wanted to go back to its original owner. She sighed and sheathed the weapon smoothly. Holding it in one arm, she left the room and found Ace in his. She had never met a weapon like this. It was a shame she had to return it._

" _I'm gonna give her back. She wants to go back to her owner," Luffy said, somewhat sad. She'd never come across another blade like this one. Ace didn't question Luffy calling the sword a she. Luffy was strange like that._

" _Okay, let's go find Chopper," Ace said. Luffy held Wado Ichimonji wrapped in a blanket, carefully so as not to drop it and damage the scabbard or get it dirty, since it was such a pure white._

 _It didn't take long for them to find Chopper, for many nymphs went out of their way to see him. Ace and Luffy had just asked for directions._

 _Luffy and Ace walked up to the pirate crew, without Zoro. Chopper walked up to the two while the rest of the group watched, interested in what was to happen next._

" _Can you take us to Roronoa Zoro?" Luffy asked. "I have to give him something back."_

 _Chopper nodded, knowing what Luffy would be giving back. He wondered why…_

 _They found Zoro chugging a bottle of alcohol, and he seethed at Luffy when she walked nearer to him. But she stayed a little over two yards away. "Can you translate for me?" Luffy questioned. Chopper nodded._

"' _Your sword is disappointed in you,'" Chopper translated. Sanji started to laugh, but Luffy gave him a dark, warning scowl. He didn't make another noise again. Luffy turned back to Zoro, who was glaring at her. "'You broke your vow, but she doesn't want to be wielded by anyone but you.'"_

 _Zoro's eyes widened, the rest of his face relaxing. The blood drained from his face. How the hell did Luffy know about the vow he made with Kuina? And she called Wado a 'she'..._

 _Luffy unwrapped the sword carefully and walked nearer to Zoro, reaching up to give it back._

'" _Take better care of her.'" The rest of the crew wondered why Zoro looked so pale and stunned._

"What is this sword's name?" _Zoro asked harshly._

"' _Kuina'," Chopper translated. Zoro's mouth opened in shock. Then Chopper spoke for Luffy again. "'I wouldn't have given back your other sword that isn't cursed. You're lucky.'" She turned around and walked to Ace, who had been observing Zoro the whole time._

" _Let's go home and eat," Luffy said as she took Ace's hand. "I'm hungry from fighting last night."_

" _I would expect so," Ace replied with a smile. But then Zoro stopped them._

"Would you like to fight again sometime?" _Zoro asked, sounding a little awkward. The rest of the crew looked at him like they didn't recognize him. What was so significant about their short conversation? And who was Kuina and this vow the nymph talked about?_

 _Luffy turned around and grinned, nodding her head enthusiastically. Zoro felt his face heat up. Then the two nymphs walked away gracefully and quietly, conversing with each other._


	4. A Much Different Outcome

Chopper didn't pay attention to the two's conversation, instead, he turned to Zoro. His face was red, and he looked down at the white sword before he put it back in place, where it should always be.

"What the hell was that all about?" Sanji asked. "Who is Kuina? That isn't your sword's name."

"It is interesting. I wonder what was so significant to make Zoro blush," Robin said in a teasing voice. Zoro snarled at her to shut her mouth and then walked off, down the road and turned a corner. He went the opposite way Luffy and her brother had gone.

Once Zoro was far enough, he sat against a tree, remembering his and Kuina's vow. He wondered how Luffy knew about that. And that his sword had feelings… it was strange to say the least. She'd only had it for a few hours, and she knew it like that? Knew who had owned it before him?

He could totally see Kuina being disappointed. She'd be laughing at him most likely. Beaten by another little girl. Females were his downfall. Then he thought about how much fun he'd had with that fight last night. Of course, being impaled by four blades at once hadn't been fun, but it was nice Luffy didn't leave him to die. She must be a kind person to bring back a prize just because it didn't want to be owned by her. He wondered how many weapons she had stolen. And how old she was.

And she knew that Sandai Kitetsu was cursed without spending time with it personally. He couldn't wait to fight her again, whenever that may be. His face heated up at the thought. The feeling he had when he fought with Luffy last night reminded him of when he fought with his last greatest rival, except Luffy was much more wild and unpredictable than Kuina had been. She would have loved to meet Luffy, though that brought up the question if Luffy was considered a swordswoman if she just changed her limbs into weapons.

No, Zoro would say she's a swordswoman. But she was merciless until the very end. He remembered right before she knocked him out, while she stood above him, she looked anything but tiny and fragile. She had been wearing the triumphant grin he'd worn so many times. It looked good on her.

Luffy was very pretty… And she could be easy to carry around since she's so small. He wanted to know more about her. What else she could do. Her likes and dislikes. Gah! Why was he thinking these things? He's never been fond of women before! Why now? Luffy wasn't even human, which made these thoughts more strange to him. And he wasn't supposed to care about looks.

Zoro sighed and looked at the sky, deciding to train for their next battle. He'd practice doing his sword moves quicker, since Luffy was able to stop him by being faster than Zoro was.

" _I can't wait to battle him again!" Luffy said as she and Ace ate pancakes in the large dining room. "Hey, Makino, c'mere!" Luffy called as he sister walked past a little ways away._

" _What is it?" she asked, wondering what Luffy had done this time based on her smug smile._

" _I beat Roronoa Zoro and stole his sword. I told you I would!" she told Makino, who looked slightly surprised. Then Luffy's face fell a bit. "I had to give it back, though."_

 _Makino was surprised again. "Why did you give it back?"_

" _That's all you ask!? I told you I defeated some pirate with a high bounty and you don't say anything nice?!" Luffy asked, offended. Makino sighed._

" _It's impressive that you beat him, but I never told you I didn't believe you could. I don't understand why you would give it back, though. You were dead set on getting them. Why did you return it?" Makino asked, sitting down next to Luffy and taking a bite out of her pancake. Luffy looked scandalized and moved her plate away from her sister._

" _The sword felt alive, and it didn't want to be with me. And when I told Zoro that, he looked at me really strangely. It surprised me," Luffy explained._

" _Well, most people can't speak to inanimate objects, Luffy," Ace interjected, sitting across from both sisters and eating his own pancakes. "It seemed like what you said had some significance to him."_

" _Maybe. I don't really care about that. I just wanna fight him again. And he wants to fight me, too. Ooh I can't wait!" Luffy exclaimed, shimmying in her seat in excitement. "I'm gonna go get some sleep during the day so I can go out tonight without being sleepy. Plus, I'm tired, too." Luffy got rid of the mess on her plate and put it back in the cupboard of silverware and plates and bowls._

" _See you later!" she called as she bustled to her room. She changed into comfy clothes, planning on sleeping for a long while, and dove under her blankets, falling asleep easily._

"Zoro! Where the hell did you go?" Usopp called as he looked for the man. It was lunch time, and Sanji was going to make food. Zoro hadn't had breakfast that morning.

Zoro was sleeping against the tree he'd stopped at a couple hours ago, his swords stuck between his back and the tree. He wouldn't be surprised if some other nymph decided they wanted his shiny swords. What are they, goblins? More like little-pain-in-the-asses.

Usopp came across him and bonked him on the head. Zoro grabbed Usopp's fist before he punched down on his head again. "What do you want?" he growled. He still didn't want to be around the crew. They probably wouldn't leave him alone about Luffy and his sword.

But he was hungry, and if he was going to fight Luffy again, he should get some food. He'd had enough sleep. He'd practiced a little bit while he was out there alone, but was finding it hard to go faster than he usually did, since he always tried to go as fast as he could during battles.

"It's lunch time if you wanna come eat," Usopp said, yanking his hand out of Zoro's grip. Zoro rubbed his face and looked down to his swords, making sure they were all there in their scabbards.

"Fine. Let's go," Zoro grumbled, walking the wrong way. Usopp sighed.

"It's this way, Zoro," he said, exasperated. Zoro grunted and turned around to follow Usopp. The two didn't talk on their way back to the ship, though Usopp was watching him for most of the trip through the corner of his eye. Zoro seemed preoccupied by his thoughts, whatever they were.

"Luffy is pretty cute, huh?" Usopp asked, going out on a limb.

"Why'd you bring that up?" Zoro asked, not expecting Usopp to say _that._ "She's too young for you. She looks like a child."

"She obviously doesn't fight like one," Usopp replied, fishing for information on what happened last night. He was super curious, though he was irritated with the damage the two did to the ship during their impromptu battle. Going out to see Zoro splashed with blood, his swords all spread out next to him, unsheathed, was a sight he didn't expect to see.

"No, she fights like a fucking demon out of hell," Zoro scoffed, with a soft smirk. "Can't wait to fight her again, though. Teach her who's better." Zoro was determined to get her back for humiliating him and then exposing personal information to the crew, intentional or not.

"Hmm…" was Usopp's response just as the ship came into view.

Zoro's stomach growled at the sight of the ship. He was starving. Just that fight should have had him eating like a pig for breakfast, but then he skipped that, too. Sanji better be prepared with a large amount of food. He knew everyone was going to either mock him or pester him for information, but he was hungry. He'd deal with it, but no one would know who Kuina was. That was too personal.

Sanji had made sandwiches, three for each person with their favorite combos. As everyone sat down, and Zoro started to eat, he noticed no one else was eating. He sighed in irritation.

"I'm not telling any of you," he said, going back to inhaling his sandwiches. Then Sanji pissed him off, unintentionally for once.

"Who is Kuina?" Sanji questioned. Everyone felt the temperature in the room change. Zoro looked like a demon as he glared at Sanji.

" _You_ don't say that name! Ever!" Zoro raged at him. Even Sanji was startled by the abrupt and violent change in Zoro's voice and presence. Sanji stared at him, knowing that whoever Kuina was, it was extremely personal. Even Sanji wasn't going to violate that for Zoro.

"Che," was Sanji's reply. Everyone stared at Zoro as he stuffed his final sandwich in his mouth and then stomped out of the galley. They could hear him loudly going into the storage room to get liquor.

"Damn," Usopp said.

"I'm betting Kuina is dead," Nami said, sipping her drink. She sounded a bit sad. "He obviously didn't want any of us to know who she was. Let's not bring her up again."

"Wait… he always touches that sword. Haven't you guys noticed that? Maybe that sword means so much to him because it has ties to someone who is dead," Usopp hypothesized.

"That does make sense. I wonder how Luffy knew about Kuina. Is she a sword-whisperer or something?" Nami asked. "And she's very kind to have given Wado back because she knew it had sentimental value."

"I wouldn't call beating and stealing something from someone 'kind'," Sanji commented. "But at least she seemed to heal him based on the fact he had no wounds. How did none of us hear them fighting? They must have been loud for the damage they did to the ship. And just because she can't talk, grunt or scream, doesn't mean Zoro can't…"

"You do have some good points. We can watch them fight tonight I guess," Robin said, going to her second sandwich. "I'd like to see how she fought him. What abilities she had or what weapons she used."

"Someone that tiny can't hold a big sword-" Usopp began, but Robin cut him off.

"We don't know that. We know practically nothing about nymphs. They could be ridiculously strong. It's a mystery I want to uncover."

No one bothered Zoro as he worked out on the deck. They wanted to see him fight Luffy. Sanji and Usopp wanted to see Zoro get beaten, Robin wanted to see how Luffy fought, Nami wanted to place bets, and Chopper just wanted to say hi and talk with her.

But, after dinner, which Zoro had inhaled as well, when they were going out of the galley to watch him and Luffy fight, Zoro was gone. He wasn't anywhere on the ship or near the dock.

"Ah shit," Sanji said, disappointed. "There was no way Mosshead would want to be watched during an important fight."

Robin frowned, disappointed as well. Well, they'd see who won eventually.

 _After Luffy had gorged herself on food, she left to go to the harbor. She saw Zoro working out on the deck, lifting ridiculously heavy weights. For a human that is. Luffy didn't feel like having an audience as she fought Zoro. It would be distracting, and she didn't want too many humans knowing what the nymphs could do._

 _Luffy couldn't scream to get his name, so she created a bow and arrow and shot an arrow holding a bunch of leaves as the mast near his head. She saw it startle the human, and she started waving her hands around at the peak the nymphs had been playing on the day before._

 _Noticing that Zoro saw her, she pointed to the ground where the dock ended, and disappeared into the brush, the bow and arrow forgotten._

Zoro gave a challenging smile as he saw Luffy pointing in the direction of the start of the long dock. Zoro jumped off the ship and sprinted to the port area. Luffy was there and made motions for him to follow her.

He didn't want an audience either. He smiled at the thought of how disappointed the rest of the crew would be to miss a fight that Zoro might lose. But he wouldn't lose this time. He didn't know her tricks, but he knew some of what she could do. And he knew to not underestimate her, like he'd done last night.

Luffy led him to a field a while away from the main market areas and busiest parts. It was super dark through the bushes they ran through, and the only thing he could see to follow her was the whites of her dress sleeves.

Neither were tired when they got to their battle stage. Luffy bounded away from him and further into the field to take off her shoes and tie her hair up with a band she created.

As Zoro took his swords out and tied his black bandana around his head, she stretched her legs and arms. "Don't go easy," the swordsman said in a gruff voice. Luffy smiled in response.

Zoro said nothing as he watched Luffy stand up straight and pull her hands up. Only this time, her limbs didn't turn into swords. Her fingers turned into jagged claws, reflecting moonlight. They were shards of metal in the shape of fingers. Her toes were also now jagged shards of metal.

"Bring it," Zoro growled through Wado Ichimonji.

Again, Luffy was merciless, but so was Zoro. He slashed at her violently, but he missed almost every time. And the times he came close, all it took was for Luffy to gently bump the sword away with one of her clawed fingers. Zoro had claw marks on his arms and chest, but he made no show of pain.

Once he gave her a deep slash on her arm, she immediately ran a hand over the wound and it disappeared.

"Cheating, are we?" he asked, somewhat teasingly. She scowled and ran her metal hand back over the wound, bringing it back. He smirked and went after her again, nicking her other arm.

 _Luffy didn't like getting cut and not healing, so she coated most of her arms in metal. Now it was like she was wearing long, gray gloves with razor fingertips. She wasn't against dirty tactics, throwing dirt in his eyes as she got around his back. She leapt to grab onto his back, but he turned around, not deterred by the dirt in his eyes. He could sense where she was going next._

Zoro laughed at her pout once he had the time to wipe his eyes with the back of one of his hands. When she charged at him, wrapping both arms around a single sword, he began to laugh at the fun of their battle. He stopped laughing when she was able to twist one of his swords out of his hands and threw it behind him.

She danced away from him, smirking at his angered expression. Now he was really serious. She took one of his swords away, so he moved Wado to his sword-less hand. Luffy could feel the animosity rolling off of him, and she snickered at it. He lunged forwards, slicing his swords above one another, trying to slice her in half, knowing she'd be fine even if he did mortally wound her. But she leapt so high she was above him. She planted the balls of her dirty feet on his face.

When Zoro grunted, she was already on her way down, straightening her legs and coating the bottoms of her feet in steel. She landed both feet on Wado and his cursed blade, pushing them down harshly until they were stuck in the hard ground.

Luffy barely touched the ground before she brought her legs back up to kick his abdomen, knocking him down onto the ground. She finally landed on him with her clawed fingers pressing against his throat.

The fight was longer than their last, but felt shorter because of how much they enjoyed it.

"You win," Zoro grumbled from underneath the little nymph. She stepped off of him and turned her body back to normal. Luffy healed her wounds by running her hands along them lengthwise. She walked to her shoes and slipped them back on, taking her hair out of the messy ponytail.

Zoro was still breathing heavily when she came back to him, holding the sword she'd disarmed first. It was dirty from being lodged in the dirt. She wiped the blade against her dirty dress and set it next to the human. Zoro flinched away from her slightly when she sat right next to him. Luffy raised an eyebrow at him, but ran her hands over his body anyways, healing all of his small or large injuries.

Luffy could see his small blush when she healed the wounds on his cheeks and smiled in amusement.

She sat next to him and massaged her hands, which were stiff from being in the clawed metal form. She looked at the large moon. It was full tonight. Zoro was still laying on the ground, looking up at Luffy, who was looking at the sky, her face completely calm, though she was still sweaty from all the exertion.

"Y'know, I never beat Kuina," Zoro said conversationally. Luffy looked at him in interest, waiting for him to continue. "She beat me 2,001 times. I could barely use a single sword when I first challenged her. She wanted to become the world's greatest swordmaster, but she couldn't because she was a girl. So our vow was that one of us would achieve the title of the greatest swordmaster in the world.

"Then she fell down the stairs and broke her neck that night. This was her sword," Zoro said as he lifted Wado Ichimonji. "And now it's mine and I carry it for her. Thanks for giving it back. But how did you know about Kuina?" he asked, not expecting her to be able to answer.

Luffy spread her hands along the grass, creating a writing canvas. She created a pen and wrote her reply _. I could just feel it._ Zoro's eyes widened in amazement, but didn't change the subject to ask about that ability.

"How?"

 _I can't explain it._

Zoro made a slightly disappointed look and sheathed the blade smoothly, finally sitting up.

 _I've been waiting for a good opponent for years. Thanks,_ Luffy wrote. Every time she finished a sentence and knew Zoro had read it, she wiped the words off with her other hand.

"You're a pretty worthy opponent yourself." Luffy smiled at him.

 _I'll be right back,_ the nymph wrote before silently running off and into the forest. Zoro watched where she had disappeared for a long moment. He really liked Luffy, even if she was a cocky little thief. This battle would have been much, much less enjoyable if it had taken place in front of an audience.

He couldn't help but compare Luffy and Kuina. And he had never thought he'd find someone as strong to him than she had been. He became a bit misty eyed as he thought of Kuina, which he never did anymore. Nothing brought up the memories and he was always preoccupied with something or someone else to just relax and think about her.

It was too bad Kuina couldn't meet Luffy. They would have enjoyed fighting each other. The small girl came back carrying a straw basket with apples in it and two canteens full of fresh water. Zoro sat up as she ran to him, her bundle of goods almost too big for her to carry. She set the basket in front of him and plopped down next to him, taking a big gulp from her canteen. Zoro took the other from her and drank the water as well.

Luffy took an apple and munched on it, looking at the stars. There wasn't a cloud in the sky that night. The sweat was dried on her from the cool breeze coming through the clearing. She looked to Zoro, who was staring at her. She made an expression as if saying, "What's with that look?"

"How old are you, Luffy?" Zoro asked. She turned her apple around and carved her finger in it until it showed "17". After she showed him, she bit off that part of the apple. She gave him a look, asking how old he was.

"I'm 19. Do you not like not being able to make noise?" She shook her head. It's not like she had any reason to. She could talk fine to who she wanted to talk to. "Hmm…" was his reply. He fought back a yawn. He hadn't napped much today. He was tired, and the constantly getting cut and stabbed part of the battle had taken its toll. Plus, whatever Luffy did to heal him seemed to exhaust him.

 _Do you want me to take you back?_ Luffy wrote. Zoro yawned again and nodded, slightly embarrassed. Luffy set all of the objects she had on the grass in one pile, leaving it for her to come get back later. She stood up and brushed the dirt off of her dress, bounding away once Zoro stood as well.

It was hard for Zoro to keep up this time, since he was more tired, and Luffy was running quicker than last time for some reason. When she ran, it was like she bounced around silently. Her footsteps made no sound, though Zoro's boots were crunching leaves and twigs in their path. It wasn't long before they were heading downhill, and Zoro could smell the sea.

Luffy finally slowed when they came to a dirt clearing with a single building. They were at the harbor. She stopped at the edge of the dock and smiled at Zoro. Zoro smiled back and walked down the deck to the ship, only looking back to see Luffy disappear into the plants that reached above her head, swallowing her.


	5. Developing Feelings

"Mosshead, where the hell have you been?!" Sanji called as Zoro climbed up the side of the Merry. Everyone was frowning at him. They'd been looking forward to the fight. To see how little Luffy had beaten Zoro. Robin had really wanted to watch Luffy without offending any of the nymphs. She felt bad that she found them interesting enough to study, but she couldn't help it.

"Out," Zoro said, passing all of them without another word and heading to the men's room to change out of his dirty clothes and go to sleep. But it was hard for him to sleep as he laid on the couch. He kept thinking about their fight, and he couldn't believe he spoke about Kuina with a near stranger. But maybe that's why he had. It wasn't like Luffy knew Zoro well enough to judge that kind of story.

Zoro tossed and turned, trying to go to sleep, but it just wasn't happening. Though he didn't want to leave the room. And he really was tired, but he kept thinking about their fight, and how he had actually laughed while they battled. And thinking about the way Luffy moved, like she was weightless. He wanted to see more of what she could do. She was such a mystery. All of the nymphs were.

But he was not going to tell anyone what Luffy was able to do. The nymphs obviously didn't want any human to know of their abilities, and that was why no one ever returned after following the little ones.

He became slightly worried about the rest of Luffy's kind. What if they didn't approve of him and Luffy spending time together, and Zoro went missing? Did they kill who followed them, or did they do something else to get rid of them? He couldn't see Luffy killing anyone, but looks can be deceiving. Luffy had brutally stabbed him to steal a sword after all, though she had healed him afterwards.

Then he thought of the warm smile she gave him, instead of responses like someone who could speak would give. He wished she could speak, but there was nothing to be done about it. It wasn't like she could just suddenly grow the necessities of vocalization.

Zoro eventually fell asleep, and had a dreamless sleep. The other guys didn't bother him, thankfully. They'd bother him tomorrow. There was no doubt.

 _Luffy ran back to the clearing and collected her things, then heading home to sleep. She was tired from the fight she won again. She wondered why Zoro had told her about Kuina. It seemed pretty personal. Maybe it was because she couldn't really speak back, so he felt safe talking to someone who couldn't really judge, or scoff, or do something rude._

 _The lights were mostly off when she got home, and she hurried to her bedroom, putting the canteens and basket in her chest at the end of her bed. She was glad Ace hadn't waited up for her. He'd have wanted to ask her all about her fight, and she was tired._

 _Curling up under her thick blankets, she fell asleep almost instantly. She dreamt about playing tag with Ace and Zoro, and then the two got in a fight, and Ace won. Then she and Ace ran around shouting about how they were the most powerful siblings ever, embarrassing Zoro greatly, making his face bright red. It was a funny sight._

 _When she woke up, she left her room with a grin and went to bang on Ace's door. He opened it, looking at her sleepily. "What is it?"_

" _I won again," Luffy said smugly. "I disarmed all of his swords, and then pinned him to the ground. I'm so happy I won again! He was really nice afterwards, too. He told me about his sword's story. Then he got all tired, so I brought him back to his ship," she explained._

" _Where did you go?" Ace asked, feeling a bit uneasy._

" _That practice clearing I used when I was first training," Luffy replied. She frowned at Ace's upset expression. "What's wrong?"_

" _You went to a very secluded area, without telling anyone, with a powerful human man. Did you think that through? He could have done anything to you, or even killed you, and no one would have ever known! That was a mistake, Luffy. Did you think of that possibility? And you had already beaten him up and stolen something important. He might have still been furious and wanted revenge." Then he sighed._

 _Luffy looked down, understanding his concern. She hadn't thought that through. "But, I can take care of myself. I've proved that already!"_

" _Luffy! Pirates and visitors don't know our history! They don't know what we can do to them. They might kidnap you, or at least try. They could throw you in the ocean, and you wouldn't be able to explain anything to them, or call for help. Even though we are strong and powerful, we are still disadvantaged. You know that. Anything could happen to you being alone. That's why we stick together in groups. Tell me you understand what I'm saying," Ace said harshly._

" _I understand… I just felt like he wouldn't do something bad to me…" Luffy mumbled, feeling guilty for worrying Ace._

" _And what if you had lost? He could have done anything he wanted to you. You know what it used to be like. How girls were treated by human men. That's why we hate them. The things they did to us before we fought back… They are unforgivable. And you have been consorting with a human?!" Ace started to raise his voice._

" _But he wasn't someone who had treated us like that! He wasn't even born when that all happened. You can't blame him for something he didn't do. That's just not fair… And you know that, don't you?" Luffy countered, becoming defiant. She just knew Zoro wouldn't do anything, and that's why she never considered something bad like that would happen._

" _I know that, but it's still dangerous. Especially because he's a pirate with a high bounty."_

" _Chopper is a pirate, and you like him. Why would he sail with pirates who are terrible? Just because Zoro looks grumpy doesn't mean he's a bad guy!"_

" _Luffy, why are you defending him so strongly?" Ace asked. "You met two days ago, and for half of that time, he was furious with you or didn't like you in the first place. Just because you had some important, tiny conversation doesn't make him your friend or anything. Just because he's fun to fight with doesn't make him your friend either."_

 _Luffy looked down at her feet. She nodded once and sadly walked away from Ace, her bottom lip sticking out with a deep frown. Zoro probably doesn't want to be her friend in the first place. And he'd be leaving soon, so why would she want to be friends with someone who would leave so soon. They only liked fighting together, and that was it._

 _But Luffy was okay with that, because Ace was right. If Zoro were to move here, that would be different. She wished he was a nymph like her. So he could understand her and they could be real friends._

 _She went to Makino's room and knocked on the door._

" _Hey, what's wrong?" Makino asked, seeing Luffy's depressed and deep frown. She opened the door wider to let Luffy in._

" _Will you go to the library with me? I just feel like staying home today…" Luffy mumbled. Makino looked at her sadly. Something happened._

" _Sure. But let's change," Luffy's sister said. Luffy nodded and left to her room to change out of her pajamas. She slipped on clean shoes, and met Makino in the hall. They walked out of their home and to the tree entrance._

 _It was still early morning and there weren't that many people out. The library was also pretty much empty except for a familiar looking woman standing in one of the isles, looking at the books about the history of the island. You could tell she wasn't from around here because humans rarely read those books._

 _Luffy paid no more attention to the woman as she and Makino walked to the fiction section. Once Luffy picked out a couple books, some she'd already read, she left the library, still looking down. She was gonna spend the day in bed. She was in no mood to socialize._

Zoro woke up to the sound of Usopp dropping something heavy, with a loud "Oof!" accompanied. Zoro looked to the side at him in irritation, but Usopp didn't see. Zoro sighed, not feeling like going back to bed. And he was hungry. Last night was pretty intense, so of course he was starving. Love-cook better have made something high in protein.

The swordsman changed clothes and put his swords back to his hip, stopping slightly when he saw how dirty the scabbards were. They had been on the thin, somewhat dirty grass last night. He'd clean them later. Then he gave a soft smile thinking about how much fun last night was.

They had five more days till they left. Suddenly, he felt sad about that. He hadn't had a battle that made him laugh in a very long time. He'd smiled - well, _smirked,_ or gave a creepy grin, but not laughed.

He was silent all breakfast, distracted by thoughts of leaving. He didn't even jab at Sanji through the whole meal. He didn't notice that everyone was looking at him strangely. Robin was smiling knowingly at him a bit as she sipped her coffee.

"So how did the fight go last night? Did she kick your ass again?" Nami asked. Zoro just nodded, no real expression on his face. Nami frowned at this; something was up with him. "What was the fight like?" she asked, trying to get information out of him about why he was acting all distant like this. She wanted something to hold over him so she could up his ever growing debt.

"It was fine," was all Zoro said. But he had a small smirk on his face as he said this. "She's pretty strong. And fights dirty," Zoro said, thinking of Luffy throwing dirt at his face.

"What do you mean?" Usopp questioned.

"I mean throwing dirt in my face and yanking weapons away and throwing them behind me," Zoro elaborated, surprising everyone that he wouldn't just grunt as an answer.

"Well, she doesn't seem that strong if she couldn't cut you even once," Usopp commented. Zoro frowned. He didn't like him calling Luffy weak, but he didn't want to tell anyone about what her powers were. No one knew for a reason, and he wasn't going to mess it up. Some on this crew couldn't keep their mouths shut (Usopp).

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Robin interjected. "Remember the first time she defeated Zoro? It was clear he had had wounds from the copious amount of blood that was on his clothes, but there were no wounds when we found him. They can most likely heal themselves or others. That would be the most logical answer." She sipped her coffee again, watching Zoro's expression.

He looked a little peeved. She could understand. He didn't want others to know what Luffy could do, since the nymphs hid their abilities from the humans as best as they could.

"Isn't… it isn't scary to be around her? She could kill you, or whatever they do to get rid of people, easily," Usopp asked.

"It isn't scary being with her. Besides, I don't really think she'd just kill someone without letting them put up a fight," Zoro replied, finished with his food.

"But she is violent, right?" Nami questioned, wanting to know more about Luffy. Zoro didn't get interested in things easily, but this seemed like an exception.

Robin answered before Zoro. "Nymphs are not violent. There is no proof that they kill those that follow them. They only defend themselves against threats. And as for the missing followers, for all we know, they could just make them go somewhere else. And just because Luffy likes to fight, does not mean she is violent. She has most likely healed Zoro's injuries as well.

"While I did see her look somewhat angry and threatening, I assume it was only because Sanji was getting in her way while she carried something that she didn't want to drop. I know Nami would react the same way," Robin finished, looking over at the other woman.

"But Nami would have hit Sanji if he did that. Luffy didn't. She's nice!" Chopper said. He wasn't trying to be rude to Nami, but she scowled at him anyway.

"Yeah, Nami seems more violent than Luffy," Usopp commented quietly. But Nami heard it and reached over to punch his head. "You see!" Usopp whined, leaning away from her.

"I am not violent, I just like discipline," she said, crossing her arms. No one disagreed out loud.

"So are you gonna see her again today?" Chopper asked. He wondered if Luffy would be his friend, too.

"Don't know. It's not like we made plans or anything. We didn't really talk at all, anyways," Zoro replied. The others frowned. The nymphs couldn't possibly speak.

"How did you talk to her?" Sanji questioned. Zoro responded that she wrote on a paper. "Do you want to see her again?" Sanji asked, sounding a bit teasing, but was surprised, like everyone else, when Zoro answered truthfully… with a slightly red face.

"...Yeah…" he said softly. Nami and Robin giggled. Usopp and Chopper looked confused and Sanji looked angry. He recognized that look, and Luffy could do so much better than _Zoro_.

"Do you _liikkeee_ her?" Nami asked, her hand in front of her mouth to stifle giggles at Zoro's expression. His face was red.

"No," he growled, sounding angry. "And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. You'd probably blackmail me somehow. I'm going out," he said, jerking the bench back, making Chopper and Usopp almost fall off.

"Don't get lost," Nami called as Zoro left the room, slamming the door behind him.

As he walked through the town, he couldn't help but look at all the nymphs, trying to unconsciously find a certain one. But there weren't many out yet. It was early after all. But why did everyone act so weird this morning? And tease him about liking Luffy… he couldn't even talk to her! Well, not that he talks a whole lot himself… but that wasn't the point. Plus, they were leaving in five days, it's not like a… _relationship_ (he shivered at the word) could work in such a small amount of time. And he'd probably never come back to this island and Luffy would never come with them - not that he wanted her to! He only liked her because she could fight well. That was it!

"Ugh…" Zoro sighed, sitting against the same tree he had the day before. He didn't like this. He kept thinking about Luffy, and that smirk she wore while she fought that reminded him so much of himself. How he looks when he fights. He wanted to see her again today…

Zoro napped at the tree for a few hours, before he woke up to a bunch of little people eyeing him. He jerked up right and stood up. Their eyes followed his face. Well, the side of his face. No… his ear. They were looking at his ear? Then he remembered Robin say no one wears jewelry anymore, and touched his golden earrings.

"Uh, bye!" he said, and ran off, feeling thoroughly embarrassed. But he didn't want to piss them off by being rude. None of them followed, though they all looked slightly disappointed. They were swinging and looked really pretty.

Zoro was somewhat surprised Luffy hadn't stolen his earrings yet. Hadn't yanked them out and then healed the wounds over. He wandered around for a while, getting further and further away from the town, until he was on a trail going up higher to the mountainous area, in the middle of the island.

He wandered for a few hours before he heard rustling, and saw some nymphs running around 30 feet away, either ignoring or not noticing the green haired human. He didn't pay much attention to them, not wanting to piss them off or offend them.

The three playing did notice him, but he was heading in the opposite direction of their home entrance, so they watched him until he was far enough to not be seen or heard. He was probably lost, but who cares? As long as he stays away from their favorite places, he is free to be lost and wander endlessly.

Zoro couldn't deny that the forest was beautiful, with spots of sunlight making it through the thick foliage above the grassy ground. He saw a few rope swings on some of the bigger trees hanging off of high, thick branches. He wondered if Luffy played on them. Then he blushed a little, and sighed at the heat he felt flood his face.

The swordsman hadn't noticed he was unconsciously looking for Luffy, wanting to see her again… but only to fight! That was it. Stupid crew, asking these stupid questions making him feel weird. Zoro stopped wandering and sat down at a sunny spot. He knew he'd have a hard time finding his way out, but that could wait for now. For now, he wanted to escape his weird thoughts. But that's not what happened.

 _~x~_

 _Luffy was standing on the railing of the Merry, looking out at the ocean, like she'd never seen it before. She was so quiet and still that you'd think she was a very realistic looking statue. Then Zoro walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her tiny waist, pulling her away from the railing and spinning her around._

 _She made little sighs that shook her body; silent laughter. Then Sanji came over and took her hand to kiss it. Luffy pulled her hand away awkwardly, set down on the ground for Zoro to punch Sanji across the face._

" _Don't you touch her again! She's mine," he snarled. Luffy blushed and gave a small smirk behind him as she watched Zoro pull out his swords as Sanji brought his leg up._

 _The scene changed and Luffy was sitting on the railing of the Merry, looking at the ocean again, like she was searching for something on the empty horizon. She was completely engrossed in the peaceful view, punctuated by a dolphin or seal once and a while. Usopp was messing around a little ways behind her with his weapons. One of them exploded, startling Luffy. She jolted and slipped off the railing, falling into the ocean with a small_ ploop.

 _Nobody noticed for a few seconds before Chopper started screaming about Luffy calling for help, and that she'd fallen into the water. Robin screamed at someone that she couldn't swim, and Zoro dived under immediately, looking for Luffy in the unnaturally clear water._

 _She had latched onto the side of the ship underwater with a metal claw, her eyes wide and she was panicking. She couldn't bring herself up, and started to lose her grip. But then Zoro was there, grabbing her around the tiny waist and swimming up with her. She was almost weightless in the crook of his elbow._

 _Luffy started sobbing once they got to the surface. A rope was thrown over the side, but Luffy couldn't climb it from her shaking. Robin gently picked her up with multiple pairs of arms and passed her up the side of the Going Merry. Once the nymph was over the side and onto the deck, she curled into a little ball and sobbed silently, making no sound, but her body wracked anyway._

 _Zoro tried to comfort her, but she ran away from him and to the dock, where Ace suddenly was, holding her as she hugged him and cried. It was as if Ace spoke, when he said, "You could never protect her,_ **human**."

 _~x~_

Zoro woke up, startled by the intensity of the dream. And his face and whole body felt hot in embarrassment. He just met her and already he was having possessive dreams about being with her romantically. He gave a large sigh, pulling Wado out of its scabbard and staring at it, wondering what Luffy thought when she looked at it after stealing it from him. What told her about the sword's sentimental value? It was a mystery he'd probably never unravel.

And the last dream was just disturbing. He didn't want to think about it again.

Looking up at the sky, he sighed one more time and tried to find his way back to the town.


End file.
